Yes
15% (92)

No
85% (507)

Charles Brandes, No. 331 on the Forbes’ 400, follows all of the local teams, but at a detached distance.

“Every once in a while I’ve been told to look at a franchise,” the billionaire money manager said Tuesday afternoon, “and I’ve decided about a day later not to do it.

“Basically, it’s not my area of expertise. I like to remain focused and have had some good success at remaining focused … I would not want to get distracted by doing something like that. And it can be quite distracting.”

Owning a major-league baseball team is a pricey proposition, but the investment is not merely monetary. It’s the most public of private businesses, an enterprise in which you have to answer not only to partners, but to millions of emotional stakeholders who tend to view profit as the enemy of performance.

This is not a business for everyone, and it’s not a business for very many for very long.

When John Moores confirmed his intention to sell the Padres for a second time Tuesday, he sounded like a man eager to make his exit. Now in his 18th year as the club’s controlling interest, Moores has known triumph and tumult up close and then at progressively longer range, eventually retreating to Texas in anticipation of a clean break.

Moores was ready to cash out three years ago, when he agreed to sell the club in pieces to an investment group fronted by Jeff Moorad, and he has returned to the scene with all of the enthusiasm of a man renewing his driver’s license.

“It’s difficult to think about not owning a club, but it’s time,” he said. “The average club turns over every five to six seasons. I’m clearly on the long end of ownership.”

This time, the end could come quickly. The abrupt and messy end of Moorad’s installment purchase plan has reinforced baseball’s preference for one-stop shoppers, and the pending $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers has stimulated a marketplace where demand invariably outstrips supply in a universe of 30 clubs.

Prospective buyers are already kicking the Padres’ tires, running the numbers and gabbing with go-betweens Steve Greenberg and John Moag.

Citing confidentiality clauses and the sensitivities of embarrassed losers, Greenberg and Moag declined to discuss potential bidders Tuesday. Still, Greenberg has a history with hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen, who lost out in the final bidding for the Dodgers, and the Padres figure to command a significantly smaller price. (The over/under here is $725 million.)

Two baseball sources Tuesday identified former Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley as an interested party. Another baseball source believes former player agent Dennis Gilbert may get involved with the Padres once he’s recovered from losing out on the Dodgers. Bill Reik, a minority partner in the Cincinnati Reds, says he is openly “interested in exploring it.”

Curiously, some of the wealthiest members of Moorad’s group have shown little interest in expanding their positions as the club has appreciated in value. Though Moorad’s inability to gain approval as the Padres’ “control person” posed an obstacle for his partners, it may also have created an attractive arbitrage opportunity.

Assuming the Moorad group retained the option to buy the 51 percent block controlled by Moores at a price set in 2009, its willingness to waive that right in the face of rising franchise prices would seem to leave a lot of money on the table. Though baseball ownership could block an attempt to “flip” a franchise for a quick score, rich men don’t get richer by forsaking their financial advantages.

Moorad continues to maintain his public silence since his March 22 resignation as the Padres’ chief executive officer. Ron Fowler, who succeeded Moorad as point man for the minority partnership, has yet to respond to numerous interview requests.

“I’m reluctant to speculate,” Moores said of the Moorad group’s position.

It’s possible that many of those with a piece of the Padres perceive a market top, and that the chance to sell in the wake of the Dodgers’ deal is more persuasive than a more protracted and potentially more lucrative transaction.

“John Moag and I have both received a number of calls,” Steve Greenberg said. “It’s way too soon to gauge the level of interest, but I will say based on what we’ve heard … it’s a very hot time for baseball.”

Whether it’s as good a time to get in as it is to get out is a different matter.